President Bush goes on TV tonight to discuss Iraq. The Democrats in Congress, who oppose President Bushâs âsurgeâ just got some help form unexpected quarters: Iraqâs Prime Minister, Nouri al Maliki. Malikiâs spokesman told the press that when âPresident Bush told the prime minister he was ready to send additional troopsâ instead of saying, âYes. Great. Anything to help end the bloodshed,â Maliki balked, saying heâd have to âtalk it over with his military advisorsâ first.

Why? It seems Prime Minister Malikiâs Shiite allies, including cleric Mugtada al-Sadarâs Shiite militias, are âgaining groundâ in their fight to cleanse Baghdad neighborhoods of Sunnis â and may not welcome more American troops right at the moment.

We have now come full circle in Iraq. First, the Shiites welcomed us with open arms because we deposed Saddam. Now it looks like we may interfere with their slaughtering the Sunniâs, so theyâre saying, Thank you. But youâve done enough.

Think back to all the noble talk about bringing âdemocracy to Iraq.â It turned out to be naïve because in Iraq being in power means something much simpler than justice. It means itâs your turn to punish your enemies.